74/366 Juvenile Cormorants

14 Saturday Mar 2020

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First, there was one juvenile Cormorant, sitting on the edge of the canal, keeping an eye on passers-by, ready to dive into the water if anyone came too close.

Then there were two, presumably siblings. Number two had been fishing, diving in the constant search for sustenance, though I didn’t see it catch anything.

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Deciding it needed a rest and to dry off, number two jumped up on the canal edge, and proceeded to shimmy and shake, the water droplets spraying in all directions, just like a dog shaking itself after a swim.

And then, as I’m sure you’ve seen all Cormorants and Shags do, number two spread out it wings to drip-dry in the weak sunshine, while number one kept a weather eye on me. Lovely creatures both!

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73/366 Egg-citing news

13 Friday Mar 2020

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Mr and Mrs Coot are pleased to announce the laying of three eggs! I can’t tell male from female Coot – I’m not even sure if it’s possible to tell which is which – but one of them was sitting tight on the nest when I visited this morning.

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However, this small area of water has two pairs of Coots in residence, and they are uneasy neighbours. First, they were simply trying to intimidate each other.

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Next thing you know, there’s a full scale battle underway.

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And the sitting Coot left the nest to join in the tussle, which is how I know there are three eggs.

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Luckily, the skirmish didn’t last long, and the eggs were soon safe and warm under their parent once more.

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72/366 Sand martins

12 Thursday Mar 2020

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When I walked through the park this afternoon, three Sand martins were riding the blustery winds over Cosmeston’s west lake, twisting and swerving this way and that, hunting for tiny flying insects, feeding up after their marathon flights from Africa. What a joy it was to watch them!

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71/366 A Spanish fritillary

11 Wednesday Mar 2020

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I’ve never purposefully gone butterflying anywhere in Europe but I have taken photos if I’ve seen interesting butterflies – or any other critters – on my very occasional visits. And this is one such, taken in the botanical gardens in Madrid in June 2014. I believe this is a Cardinal fritillary (Argynnis pandora), and, given the prominent scent brands on its upper wings, I can confidently say it is a male.

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According to the UK Butterflies website, the Cardinal, which they call the Mediterranean fritillary, has twice been seen in Britain: near Tintagel in Cornwall in August 1911 and in Lulworth, Dorset in August 1969, though the website also notes ‘This species is considered a very rare immigrant that is, undoubtedly, mistaken for a Silver-washed Fritillary and is therefore under-recorded.’

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70/366 Nostoc

10 Tuesday Mar 2020

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Nostoc: noun; a microorganism composed of beaded filaments which aggregate to form a gelatinous mass, growing in water and damp places and able to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere (Oxford Dictionary).

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According to my totally unscientific observations, the organism that has benefitted most from this year’s almost constant wet and relatively mild weather is the cyanobacterium, Nostoc. I’ve been seeing huge viscous masses of it wherever I go, especially on concrete and gravel pathways, on steps, in gutters, wherever the atmosphere is damp, the environment water-logged.

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You can read more about Nostoc in my April 2018 blog ‘Gloop’.

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69/366 First Chiffchaffs

09 Monday Mar 2020

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Spring migration is underway! Our county bird recorder yesterday reported seeing his first Sand martin for 2020 and today I’ve seen my first Chiffchaffs, newly arrived from overwintering in the warm countries around the Mediterranean or perhaps somewhere in west Africa. Such long migratory flights by such little birds – incredible!

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I saw or heard five Chiffchaffs during my walk along the coastal path this morning and then another three at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park. Above is number three and below is number seven. Hearing them singing their ‘chiff chaff’ song made my heart spring!

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68/366 Pavement plants

08 Sunday Mar 2020

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Now that Spring has sprung, the folks who run #WildflowerHour on social media are issuing weekly challenges for followers to focus their searches around. This week it was #PavementPlants, searching for any plants in bloom that were growing in the cracks or along the edges of their local pavements. Challenges like this do mean you get some odd looks from people when you’re photographing your finds but I’m very used to that these days.

Here’s what I found: Coltsfoot (I love how tenacious these plants are – they were pushing up between the cracks in an old set of steps connecting two local streets); Common cornsalad; Daisy; Dandelion; Herb Robert; Lesser celandine; Primrose; Red dead-nettle; and Shepherd’s-purse.

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67/366 Wild word : dioecious

07 Saturday Mar 2020

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Dioecious: adjective; (of a plant or invertebrate animal) having the male and female reproductive organs in separate individuals (Oxford Dictionary).

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My example today is the Yew tree (Taxus baccata), which has male and female flowers on separate trees. The male flowers are out now on a couple of trees in my local park – the female flowers may also be out but I didn’t look for them. The males are rather more showy and obvious, especially when they’re not soaking wet and their yellow pollen is blowing in the wind.

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66/366 Three Brown rats

06 Friday Mar 2020

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I found some kind soul had left a scattering of bird seed and peanuts, still in their shells, on the dirt by the side of the east lake at Cosmeston, when I walked there this afternoon. A Mute swan, a couple of Mallards and a few Tufted ducks were milling around at the water’s edge, presumably having just been fed, but they couldn’t reach these extra seeds. The food didn’t go to waste though. As I watched, first a set of twitching whiskers and then a pair of dark bulging eyes appeared over the edge of the bank … a Brown rat!

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And then another …

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And another … three Brown rats! One at a time, they ran out, grabbed a peanut shell, and scurried away to stash their finds somewhere safe. And on they went until all the peanuts had disappeared. They were so cute to watch.

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65/366 The oldest plants

05 Thursday Mar 2020

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‘The oldest surviving family of plants on Earth is the Equisetum – the horsetail. The fifteen or so species that persist today have known 395 million years of Earth’s history.’  ~  Hope Jahren, Lab Girl: A story of trees, science and love, Fleet, London, 2016.

To my eye, Equisetum has an ancient look to it. The plant was on this planet long before humans and I’m sure it will be around long after humans have passed. Its spears are pushing up everywhere now, a literal sign that Spring has sprung.